HHS Mandate Cheat Sheet

Are American jobs, healthcare, and religious liberty threatened by Obamacare's HHS mandate?

YOUR JOB AND FAMILY'S HEALTHCARE are at stake. Our freedom to worship and to live according to our faiths is protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution and such laws as the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA).

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), was passed in 2010 and contains a mandate which requires all private healthcare plans to cover "preventive care services for women." The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued rules that health care plans must include all FDA-approved contraceptives, including drugs that can destroy a human embryo and sterilization services, without a direct cost to the patient. The HHS mandate contains only an exemption for churches and their affiliates. Religious nonprofits and businesses run by people of faith are not exempt and face crippling fines for noncompliance of up to $100 per day, per employee.

The Supreme Court ruled in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby that the government could not force family businesses to violate their faith as a condition of earning a living under the threat of crippling fines. However, this landmark ruling for religious freedom does not pertain to the non-profit cases challenging the HHS mandate on religious liberty grounds. As of January 1, 2014 religious non-profit employers are being forced to violate their consciences and comply with the HHS mandate in their health plans.

The HHS mandate marks a turning point in America's history. Religious liberty, jobs and healthcare are at stake: Can the federal government force individuals to violate their consciences as a condition of owning a business, holding a job, or purchasing healthcare?

The answer is a resounding "No." The government has no right to force employers to act against their moral and religious beliefs. First Amendment rights and freedom of conscience must be protected.

A recent poll by the Family Research Council (FRC) and Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) found: 53% of likely voters, including 50% of women ages 18-44 and 53% of independents, disapproved of the HHS mandate.

How can you effectively communicate your concerns about the HHS mandate?

The HHS mandate puts the jobs, livelihoods, and healthcare of millions of Americans at risk. It forces those who stand up for their conscience to choose between paying crippling fines that could shut down their business or dropping healthcare coverage for all their employees.

Every American, including job creators, should be free to live and work according to their beliefs, but the HHS mandate demands that Americans comply and violate their principles or stand up for their civil rights and be punished.

Respecting freedom of conscience is a long-held American tradition and the government should not impose mandates or laws that force individuals and businesses to violate this freedom.

This mandate will threaten charities and hospitals that take care of the poor, sick, homeless and those who have no place else to turn for help.

Discrimination against people who object to the mandate's requirements based on their personal beliefs is intolerant and does not allow for the free exercise of religion.

The HHS mandate is a threat to religious freedom. It jeopardizes America's long-held tradition of respecting conscience. Freedom to practice one's religion should not be confined to one's home or place of worship. It extends to the public square.

Furthermore, it threatens people's jobs, as well as healthcare coverage for families and women.

The HHS mandate could negatively impact you and your family. Please voice your concerns and urge Congress and the courts to protect religious freedom in this country and protect Americans from the unfair mandate that threatens their consciences, jobs, and healthcare.